Skype and very confused?

Using Skype in Korea?

• So I am moving to Korea for the next few months and my relatives have told me signing up for a cell phone plan is expensive, and prepaid phones are not worth the money. I could possibly try to buy a Verizon prepaid phone that runs on an UMTS network to work in Korea, but at $1.99 a minute, it's not really worth it. So I was thinking about signing up for Skype, but I am not too sure on how it works. From what I understand, Skype either can work through my broadband connection in which I would purchase a special Skype phone, or an adapter which hooks a normal land line home phone to the adapter. Also Skype can work through Skype Wi-Fi phones at any Wi-Fi hot spot (I guess they are all over Seoul, so it would be close to having normal cell phone coverage). So would I get an actual telephone number for people to call me on? And if I got the number in the United States, would my American friends and family members be able to call me for free, as if calling my cell phone? And also, I read something about calls only being free for the receiver if they have a Skype phone. I want to call my family in the U.S. from Seoul on my Skype Wi-Fi phone, and them not to be charged any non-normal fees. So what will I be charged a month? The Skype website listed I would be charged $5.99 a month for the Unlimited Country program (Unlimited calls to a single country, i.e. the U.S. both mobile and land line), but also the following other fees; $18.00 to "Receive calls from phones and mobiles with an online number" $6.00 to "Send and receive voicemails" And then all sorts of other fees for the following; "Transfer calls to phones and mobiles", "Forward calls to phones", "Skype To Go number", "Call phones and mobiles".... I am so confused on what I will be charged each month and for what phone calls and from who and from where to where?!? Also what if I wanted to call my family members in Korea? What about those charges? And if they call me, will they just be charged the international rate for calling an American, or an additional fee for calling a Skype number? And my last question, what is the best portable Skype Wi-Fi phone with the best phone call quality? Please I need help, and thank you so much for any help possible~!~

• Answer:

  Generally when you call the US with Skype, it costs about $0.02 per minute, BUT every time you make a call, it gouges a much larger amount (maybe $0.10 cents). You generally buy Skype credit in 12,000 won intervals. MAKE SURE when you download Skype to download it from the US/UK site. The Korean version makes you put in a citizen ID number, which obviously you don't have (unless you're Korean-American). As for receiving calls, I still recommend you get a regular pre-paid phone just for the purpose of receiving calls. It's cheaper than the $18 a month cost of receiving calls with Skype, and you can take it with you and get coverage ALL OVER KOREA, not just where there's a WiFi hot spot. I've never had poor cell phone reception in Korea, ever -- not even on the subway. You COULD get a WiFi Skype phone, but think about it this way -- it's expensive initially, it only works where there's a WiFi network (which won't be very frequent in the countryside), and it's like wearing a sign that says "STEAL MY PHONE! STEAL MY PHONE!" I think the most economical way to do telephony in Korea to the US is this: 1. Buy a regular pre-paid phone in Korea (cheapest model available, probably in Dongmyo Ap Market) and get it set up. This will only cost about $8 (one month of calls, three months of receiving calls, and remember, receiving calls in Korea is free, unlike certain other countries). Then get Skype and have your parents get Skype too. If you're not calling a phone number but just another Skype account, it's free. Therefore, you can have an $8 a month phone to receive calls on and phoning the US is free. It'll just require some coordination between you and your folks. Or you can buy 12,000 won of Skype credit if you want to call their landline. Either way, we're not talking more than $20 for a few months if you're conservative about it.